Game Overview
In Evosolaria you assume the role of the leader of an interstellar civilization, competing for supremacy (and access to finite strategic resources) with thousands of other players from across the world in a grand, rich, living and constantly evolving Persistent Universe. Your decisions will shape the fate of your people, as you lead them from a humble beginning on a single, average planet of a common solar system, into becoming a vast multigalaxy-spanning empire and eventually determining the very destiny of the Evosolaria Universe. During the course of the game you will Evolve Culturally, Progress Technologically, Develop your Colonies and Improve your Planets (Terraforming) in order to achieve your goals and guide your Civilization to reach its ultimate potential. You will Explore the Universe around you - discovering its dark secrets and solving ancient mysteries -, Extend your Influence across the stars, Expand the borders of your empire, and Exploit the resources contained within them in order to Grow and feed the machines of war that will Exterminate your opponents or Defend your nation from any external threat. You will also engage in Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage, form long-lasting Alliances with other players and work together to achieve wondrous feats of science and engineering on a Universal Scale! Most importantly, in Evosolaria you have the freedom to choose and follow your own, unique play style. The depth of the game allows for a multitude of different and exciting ways to build a successful, thriving Space Civilization. The only limit is your own imagination! What makes Evosolaria Unique #Profound Game Depth (equivalent to classic turn-based single player strategy games) but without unnecessary complexity. A game easy to understand and challenging to master. #Variety - Many ways to play (be whatever leader you wish to be: a Builder, a Conqueror, a Businessman, a Trader, a Scientist, an Explorer, a Politician, an Environmentalist or even an Archaeologist Detective!) #Make only meaningful decisions and experience a rich - in options and challenges - end game without needless micromanagement. #Transparent Game Mechanics (every calculation and rule is available on this very wikipedia - the Evopedia - for all players to read and understand), Robust Tutorials and Simulation Mechanics for trial-and-error without any risk. #Protection of the players' "gaming experience" in a moderated, friendly and at the same time competitiive environment. Everyone can enjoy Evosolaria, regardless of the time and effort they choose to spend in it, everyone has a chance to rise to the top, even new and formerly weak or defeated players. Defeats are not devastating, but victories are fulfilling. #Enter a vast, always evolving, living universe (malleable through both the actions of thousands of players, as well as by a carefully planned, ongoing, background storyline and a deep lore, which is ready to be discovered by those who wish to uncover its secrets), make Alliances, Friends and Enemies and lead your people to a Glorious Future. Game Mechanics Overview 'Objects and Actions' Evosolaria is populated by a large number of "Objects" (or "entities") the players can interact with in the game, such as: physical locations, colonies and outposts, civilizations, fleets, characters and alliances. The Objects (usually alone or sometimes as a group) each have their own sets of defining characteristics, traits and attributes or possess specific assets (collectively called the objects' "Stats"). Interaction with these Objects comes through various activities (or "Actions") the players can choose to perform in order to modify said Objects' Stats. In Evosolaria there is a plethora of -always meaningful, never tedious- Actions the players can choose to perform in order to shape their Civilization according to their unique vision. The Actions are designed to allow for the maximum possible player freedom, while at the same time ensuring the enjoyment of the game (for all players) in every stage of it (beginning, maturity or end-game) and keeping the interest and the sense of advancement and discovery always fresh. 'The Four Pillars of Evosolaria' Evosolaria is a game that belongs to the 4X Strategy game subgenre, a term that refers to games that focus on the 4 "Xs": E'x'''ploration, E'x'pansion, E'x'ploitation (of resources) and E'x'termination (of enemies). Thus, Evosolaria's gameplay and design revolves heavily around these concepts, which form the foundations upon which everything else is built. A fundamental goal of the game's design is to preserve the balance between the 4Xs, making all of them equally important, enabling interesting and meaningful player Actions in each category and allowing for viable wining strategies regardless of the paths chosen, whether they focus on any single one of them (e.g. a civilization heavily invested in Exploration should be able to able to challenge a war-focused Extermination player if they are using their unique strengths in a clever manner), divide their attention to any combination of them (e.g. a civilization with an "Expand & Exploit" agenda) or follow a more balanced, "generalist" approach. 'Objects and Stats' '''Locations' Evosolaria takes place in a procedurally generated Universe that has the following Structure: *'The Universe' is composed of: **'Galaxy Clusters', which consist of: ***'Galaxies', that are divided into: ****'Regions', which contain: *****'Nebulas' and *****'Star Systems', which are themselves made of Astros belonging to one of the following types: ****** Stellar -class ob jects (Stars & Dege nerate Stars like Black Holes) ******'Planet'-class objects ******'Moon'-class objects, and ******'Asteroid'-class objects (including Asteroid Belts) ::::::: (note: unlike any other pair of the above components, a Nebula and a Star System can -and will often- share the same location, in which case the Star Systems and all of its components are considered to be inside the Nebula and are affected by its attributes) Galaxies, Regions and Star Systems have a number of Attributes, but they mostly affect the Universe Generation Procedure (when the galaxies are populated with nebulas and star systems, and the star systems themselves are populated with astros) and they have little effect on the actual gameplay beyond determining the initial traits of Astros - the sub-components of Star Systems (Stars, Planets, Moons and Asteroids). On the contrary, though, the Traits and Attributes of Astros (as well as those of Nebulae, which affect the latter) are crucial gameplay elements, since the majority of the game takes place around them: Colonies and Outposts can be established on their surface (or in orbit above them), Fleets can be stationed there and fight over them, vying to establish control, valuable Resources can be extracted from them and Scientific Surveys of these bodies can discover unique natural phenomenae, extremely rare resources or even archaeological remnants and deeply buried secrets. Thus, we first describe the Planet Types & Attributes, as well as the Star Types & Attributes and the Nebula Types & Attributes. As can be seen in their respective pages, they result in a great variation of characteristics for our Astros, giving each of them their own advantages and disadvantages and thus enabling a variety of equally succesful choices and strategies for the players to follow. Civilizations Of course, Astros aren't important for their own sake but because they form the canvas upon which your Civilization will develop and thrive. Each Civilization is defined by their Traits, has a list of Attributes and accumulates or controls a number of Assets. Colonies Each Civilization is composed of Colonies - the economic "units" of Evosolaria - which are characterized by a set of Attributes and have their own, local, Assets as well. Universal and Colony Assets are practically the end product of a prosperous civilization, along with the military might that is represented by the player's Fleets. Fleets A Civilization can (and almost always will) own and deploy multiple Fleets, but there are limits on their number and size. Each Fleet is defined by its size (number of Ships expressed in resource units required to produce them) and composition (Ship Types and Weapon types) but also a small set of Attributes and is stationed at a particular location (Astro) or moving between two such locations (except). When Fleets of enemy players (or NPCs) come into contact, Combat may occur. Fleets can also be used to raid, occupy and even annex the colonies of other players (the latter not easily), or of course to defend your own colonies and outposts from such attacks, which can be not only external but also internal (civil disorder) in some cases. Characters Besides the above, 3 types of Characters exist in Evosolaria. The Player Character itself, your Officers (two subtypes - Military/Fleet Commanders and Colony Governorns) and your Agents (two subtypes as well - Explorers and Spies) all of which have appropriate sets of Traits and Attributes that evolve during gameplay according to the player's choices. Alliances Finally, players will be encouraged to join others and form Alliances (guild-like organizations) which will be as varied and customizable as the Civilizations themselves due to their own Traits and Attributes. Alliances will provide both help to players (especially the weaker ones) and the ability to cooperate in order to achieve goals that no single Civilization could ever dream of undertaking. It is also the best way to socially interact with fellow players from across the globe and form vibrant communities. To Alliances will also be in possession of Assets, similar to the Universal Assets, and can even have their own Fleets, independent of the Fleets of their members. 'The Actions' "Actions" are the various activities the players can choose to perform in order to interact with the various "objects" in the game and modify their attributes. In Evosolaria there is a plethora of -always meaningful, never tedious- Actions the players can choose to perform in order to shape their Civilization according to their unique vision. The Actions are designed to allow for the maximum possible player freedom, while at the same time ensuring the enjoyment of the game (for all players) in every stage of it (beginning, maturity or end-game) and keeping the interest and the sense of advancement and discovery always fresh. A summary of those actions is presented below. In Evosolaria, players can: *Conduct Research and develop hundreds of unique Technologies belonging to one of the following 3 types: **General Research **Topical Research **Applied Research *Advance their Culture '''and discover dozens of '''Social Concepts out of 6 different categories: **Administration (Political/Power Structure) **Government (Political System/Source of Power) **Economy (Economic System) **Society (Social System) **Policies (economic, labor, civil, trade, etc. laws) **Values (social principles, doctrines, practices, customs, conventions, unwritten laws) *Apply any possible combination of those concepts, form Ideologies (ideological systems) and weave the Social Tapestry of their Civilization according to their desires and goals. In the late game *'Explore' the Universe around them. *'Expand '''their Civilization by '''Colonizing' suitable Astros or building smaller Outposts. *Construct Structures '''on their Colonies and Outposts in order to '''Develop them and Exploit '''the resources present there, '''Terraform planets to make them more hospitable, and - in the late game - also construct massive Superstructures (like Ringworlds and Dyson Spheres) and perform feats of Planetary and Stellar Engineering of a Cosmic level, physically shaping the Universe as their rightful masters. *'Manage' the various aspects of their Colonies (their Resources, their Population - Growth, Sustenance, Labor, Prosperity, Approval, Health, Creativity, ... - , their Area, their Structures - Energy, Upkeep, ... - , their Defense, etc.) *'Produce' Military Fleets and engage in Combat with enemy fleets, or attack and Raid or Occupy and finally Annex enemy Colonies. * Engage in Espionage against their enemies, gather Intel about them, infiltrate their their facilities, colonies and fleets, steal technologies and sabotage their plans. *'Trade' with other players or with NPCs in a living, realistic, but fair and regulated in-game economy. (pretty much everything will be tradeable, from material goods - like resources or combat ships -, to services - like assisting someone with the construction of structures or using their Jump Gates -, and even information - maps, scouting reports, technologies, social concepts, etc; however, restrictions will be imposed on the range of prices that will be possible to bargained between the players in order to eliminate cheating, coercion/bullying and off-game deals from taking place). *Engage in Diplomacy with other players or NPCs (or between the Alliances), sign deals with them and determine your diplomatic stance towards them (such as war, cold war, peace, alliance, protectorate, and others) *Create Alliances or become members of them and possibly rise up the ranks to lead one, and participate in Epic-scale Alliance Projects (besides chatting and generally hanging out with their fellow players/friends on the Alliance Board). *'Train' their Characters - Colony Governors and Military Commanders - and themselves - the Player Character - and with their choices guide their evolution as they become more experienced. *And finally, the players can essentially become investigative detectives/archaelogists ''and delve in an optional quest to unravel the dark mysteries and the deep lore and history of the Evosolaria Universe, a journey that will take them across the entire cosmos (and ... beyond) and back through time billions of in-game years to the very beginning of everything. ''note: it's also possible that the "lore quests" will have elements of ARGs - that is Alternate Reality Games, google it! - and/or will require player cooperation - many players will have to share their "clues" with others and combine them to find the solution to the mysteries. Still, such elements are for the moment just a suggestion :::::